Cyber Love
by azn dreamer xD
Summary: AU: They met on a chatroom, and joined together by a popular videogame. Oh, so romantic. Will they ever realize their cyber love and soul mate is right beside them, in the same school? YxU , JxA, some OxS
1. Chapter 1: Unexpected Lockin

**Cyber Love**

**Written by aZn dReAmEr xD**

Authors Note;; AHH, this is dedicated to Shayna, who is the coolest of the coolesttt everrr. :D And who also inspired this story when I had a blank head with no ideas.

Well yeshh, it was kind of a random idea, and it seemed like fun to write. And for those who are thinking of a certain movie, NO, I DID NOT copy from it, because -points to dedication- Shayna inspired it, and I wasn't thinking about it when I began typing it. And the plotline is kind of different anyway. If you don't get it, just... yeah, forget it.

Please read and revieww! 

------

The clouds blocked the red sun, and only a dim stream of scarlet light shone through into the classroom. The shrill wind flew across the empty schoolyard, picking up dead orange leaves, and thrusting them into the air, letting it sail across the vast, gray sky.

Students who were near me were almost asleep. Their arm propped against their head, and a companion hitting them over the head with the textbook was only a minor attempt to keep himself or herself awake in such a boring environment. Their eyes fluttered open and shut again and again.

"And your homework is a five-page essay talking about how cells transfer from the female body to the-"

_DING! DING!_

My eyes fluttered wide, and I sighed with relief. I grabbed my forest green backpack from the rickety wooden chair I currently occupied, threw it over my shoulder, and walked out with Odd in tow.

"Oh god!" he rolled his eyes. "Really, Mrs. Herve has a disgusting mind."

"Yeah, a lot of teachers in this school do," I answered, as I almost tripped over my own feet. I was tired, and I was glad that our last class was over. We were free to go up to our dorms, collapse on our beds, clutch our pillow, and sleep with no annoying voice telling you that you had a lunch detention the next day because you fell asleep in front of her very "important" class.

As soon as Odd and I reached our dorm, I belly-flopped onto the sturdy bed with huge force.

"Hey Ulrich, I'm going to go downstairs and eat. Okay?" Odd questioned, rubbing his growling stomach hungrily.

"Yeah, sure." I mumbled, waving him off with my face sinking into the soft blank pillow.

As soon as the door closed, I bended back and retrieved my laptop, which was under my bed. I opened it and turned it on. I got it for Christmas from my parents- latest technology, they had assured me, one of the fastest new laptops affordable. It had become one of my hobbies to go on random chat-rooms and talk to random people, who didn't know of my status and popularity.

You see, I'm not boasting, but, yeah. I'm popular. Girls crowd around me; guys want to be my friend. You know, that type of thing. Sure, it does get annoying, but you learn to live with it. But when I'm online as an anonymous person, no one knows that I'm THE Ulrich Stern, the wealthy, most popular guy in school, that has stupid, annoying girls coo, and make sick comments about you as if you're not even there, and obnoxious flirting that can make any person barf.

This kind of popularity isn't fun. Believe me. But thankfully, I've found my real, best friends among that crowd of worshippers. Odd, the usual comedian and class clown, who always fails each test, and only dreams about having a wedding with a giant cake with lots of chocolate frosting, while staying as skinny as a toothpick. And of course, Jeremie, the class Einstein, who knows everything, isn't the most popular guy in school either. Everyone thinks popular people must have popular friends. Not all the time. My friends aren't popular, but they're still the best all the same.

Well, anyway, in about thirty seconds, the laptop was all set. My default blue wallpaper showed emotionlessly in the background. I clicked the Internet Explorer icon, and in less than a second, the entire window was up and running. I minimized it and then clicked the Instant Messenger icon. In a few seconds, that program was also up and running. Jeremie was online, but away, as usual. Something about tearing apart a computer and looking at its components for the 14th time this week. Really, what's so exciting about the inside of a computer!

**gLaMrGrL19: **ULRICH DEAR! Just to let you know, I'm free this Saturday, so I'll see you at the movies!  
**lyokowarrior8: **Who wants a loser like you to sit next to them babbling during a movie? Not me. Good-bye, Sissy.

I signed off. I named my screen name after my favorite video game, Lyoko. It was definitely the best. I was a brown-haired samurai that looked fairly like me. I was always him. Always. I had a major crush on the black-haired character though. She's absolutely gorgeous. Too bad no one at school looked like her- except this one popular girl- Yumi. I doubt she even knows about it though.

I went on a chat room specifically for Lyoko talk. Only a few people were on today, since they were usually eating dinner at this time or something. There were usually a million people here, talking away about how hot the characters were. Who cared about that? The game concepts were brilliant. The X.A.N.A. thing sure was strange though. Black gas? There was also a big squid-looking monster that wanted to suck up Alisha's memory. Genius!

**silentnightmares: ** Uh, anyone there?

No answer from anyone in the group. I decided to at least answer, it was only polite, right? Besides, there was nothing else to do. Meatballs and gravy wasn't exactly my choice of meal.

**lyokowarrior8: **Yep, I'm here.  
**silentnightmares: **Where IS everyone? There's usually a million people that completely ignore you and have nasty thoughts about everything.  
**lyokowarrior8: **Dinner?  
**silentnightmares: **Oh, right.  
**lyokowarrior8: **So, uh, what do you think of the game concept thing?  
**silentnightmares: **It's weird, but I most definitely like it.  
**lyokowarrior8: **Favorite character?  
**silentnightmares: **Yoshi. Good technique, nice fans. I don't just like her because she's pretty.  
**lyokowarrior8: **Yeah. I have a gigantic crush on her. She seems a lot better than anyone else at school.  
**silentnightmares: **Yeah, same with Ricky. Every guy at school flirts with me. It gets annoying.  
**(A/N: I'm sorry for the weird name. I was going to do Olrick, but that was even worse, and way too similar.)**

**lyokowarrior8: **You're too popular for comfort too?  
**silentnightmares: **mm-hmm. Not fun.  
**lyokowarrior8: **You're telling me. This girl at school always assumes I love her, and is so obnoxious. She just comes up to me and tells me right in front of my face that we're going to kiss during it. I can't even stand being in the same school with her!  
**silentnightmares: **No, guys are worse. They're complete perverts.  
**lyokowarrior8: **Not all guys! I'm not!  
**silentnightmares: **You're an exception.

And the night shifted from Lyoko talk to school talk- or rather, complaints. Useless chatter, but we got to know each other. It went pretty well, if you ask me. We're planning to meet again, more personally this time, on Instant Messenger, since chat rooms have a billion people there.

---

I stared at the computer and sighed. I signed off my silentnightmares screen name. It was a strange screen name, I admit, but I couldn't think of anything else. I got to the point where I was desperate.

I met a guy "named" lyokowarrior8. He was pretty nice, I guess. He's a nice change from the perverts in our school. He was someone I could talk to. Too bad we didn't know each other. Even if it was only cyber chat, it was still good. At least I could talk to someone besides Aelita anyway.

And with that statement said, uh, thought, I have to meet Aelita, to help her plan for her date with Jeremie. Really, he was so nice to her, it made me feel so happy for her to have finally found a guy that suited her. Nice and brainy. Just right for Aelita. Even though Aelita was pretty popular, she was going to date a nerd, or in nicer terms, someone lower than her on the social pyramid. But they seemed so perfect together.

I went to her dorm, which was fairly close to mine, and knocked on the door. "It's Yumi."

"Come in."

I despised pink, the color she adored. Burgundy hair and pink highlights, pink shirts, and blue jeans. Well at least that was blue. Since they were going to sneak out and take a lovely evening stroll around the park, and then go to a little café for drinks and snacks, we picked out something casual, while I was trying my hardest not to get sick in the process.

"Here," I handed it to her, with my fingers barely touching the pink fabric of the long-sleeve, tight pink shirt, "This looks good on you."

"How about this?" she held up a spaghetti-strap.

"No way. It gets chilly in the evening-" I stopped short and grinned mischievously, "EUREKA!" written all over my face. "But all the more reason he'll give you his coat!"

"Mmm, but what if I freeze and die before he does that?"

"Believe me. He's such a mama's boy; he'd most definitely give it to you, being so concerned."

"Mmkay. How about I wear the T-shirt instead?" Aelita reached in and plucked a pink shirt from the millions of pink clothes in her large closet. Being the daughter of a famous and successful scientist, she was fairly wealthy with much clothes, and a bigger dorm than a lot of people. Coincidentally, Jeremie was also fairly rich. Where do you think he got all that high-tech stuff? His father was some computer guy or an engineer, very well known, supposedly. Well-known enough for them to be rich.

"Sure. Everything in here looks good on you."

Aelita squeezed into her pink t-shirt on top of her usual tank top she wore to sleep. She had on her sleepwear as a result of napping.

"I just got these faded jeans a few days ago," the burgundy-haired girl grinned giddily as she presented it to me. It had a fashionable black belt.

"Black belt, eh?" I raised an eyebrow, and just giggled.

"Yeah, haiii-yah!" she tried to do a karate pose, but just fumbled over.

"Oh yeah, you sure have a black belt." I rolled my eyes and helped her up. "It looks good."

She slipped on the jeans on top of her pinstriped boxers. She zipped it up, adjusted her belt, and grabbed the nearest comb. She handed it to me. It was the usual routine when we had a date. All my dates had been retarded, so I hadn't gone on a date ever since the Theo Incident. I don't want to talk about it.

I brushed her hair, making her silky hair shine even more vibrantly than it had before. I grabbed a pink rubber band, and combed her hair with my fingers- it was faster. I sucked at this hair stuff, but I've gotten better, since Aelita couldn't do her hair by herself- and she's been on several dates the past month.

"You know…" she tapped her chin with her slender finger.

"Uh-huh?" I continued to tie the top part of her shoulder-length hair in a ponytail, leaving the rest of her hair down. I wanted to make it perfect for her perfect date.

"You really should go out with Ulrich."

I almost dropped my brush. "What the hell!" I gasped. "What would make you say that!"

"You two look so cute together. He's so muscular and well built, and you have a black belt, and just- oh my god. It's good that even though you're so tall, he's a bit taller. But really, you'd make the "it" couple of the year."

"Hah!" I chuckled and shook my head at Aelita's hilarious antics. "Sure, Aelita. That's the best joke I've heard yet. Please, he doesn't care about me. We barely know each other. Sure, he's hot, but he'd never notice someone like me. For all I know, he loves Sissy. We're stretched out. We're completely far apart, Aelita. And he's the one that nearly gave me a concussion at soccer remember? Aelita, I'm not interested… I strongly dislike that kid."

"I wasn't joking!" she started to protest. "You loser, I'm telling you the truth. Uh, hello! You're the most popular girl in school. You're gorgeous! Do you notice how many guys eye you, flirt with you, and ask you out! Of course he's noticed you! Look at yourself; you could be a model for all I know! And he hates Sissy. You don't get around much, do you? Anyway, it was an accident!"

"I'm not pretty, I'm not gorgeous, I'm not a model, and maybe he's acting and doesn't want her to know he loves Sissy. Oh yeah, sure, it was an accident. He was practically aiming for my head!"

"PFFT. At least go for a study-date! Oh my god. He's too shy to ask anyone out, and apparently, he hates all girls who flirt with him. And you're the only one, besides me, that doesn't! You two would be perfect for each other! At least give it some sort of shot! And besides, the Theo Incident happened a while ago! Give another man a try, will you?"

Silence.

"What about William?"

"Ewww. Who likes William! He can go get Sissy. Two freaks stuck together." I was pissed to the point where I felt like cursing. I didn't mind when she tried matchmaking. But when she did it with me, I felt like barfing and lashing out at her verbally and physically.

"I guess, but you and Ulrich would still look good together."

I ignored her. "Done! Your hair looks perfect."

She looked into the mirror. "Hmm, your best one yet." She then reached into her heart-shaped jewelry box her father had given her for her birthday. She retrieved an exotic pair of feather earrings, in which she had made by herself. She put it on, and grabbed her cell phone and wallet, then tucked it safely into her jean pockets. She didn't wear a pocketbook, saying it was useless for her to carry one when she had two suitable pockets to put her two main necessities in.

She turned around suddenly and glared at me. "I'm not letting you go so soon." She warned me. "Someday, you two will get together, and you'll be the one thanking me."

I rolled my eyes. "Sure, sure." I held out my arm, and she took it, as I escorted her out of her room. Her sandals made a soft swishing sound on the floor.

We sneaked into the boys' dorm and rushed to Room 187. When we went there, Aelita knocked rapidly on the door.

"Come in!" he shouted.

I opened the door and Aelita stepped in.

"Uh- h-hey, Aelita!" Jeremie stuttered, smiling nervously. Aelita giggled, and took his arm. Two other boys were in the room- Odd… and Ulrich. She bent down and whispered in Odd's ear. Ulrich was just staring at the T.V. screen, playing a video game. He didn't notice Aelita was whispering in his best friend's ear.

Odd nodded, and grinned. Aelita and Jeremie strutted out of the room. I heard Jeremie ask with a mixed voice of jealousy and anxiousness, "What was that all about?" Her voice was too low for me to hear, and they were getting away farther and farther. I sighed.

"I better uh, get going." I said, as I reached for the doorknob.

"Wait, uh, we have chips!" Odd cried out.

"What kind?"

"BBQ."

"Mm, I'll have one, but then I'm leaving." My mouth watered at the thought of BBQ chips.

"And I'll be going now," Odd scurried out, and closed the door. I heard a click.

"Wait- what just happened?" Ulrich stood up, the control still in his hand. "What happened!"

"Your best friend just locked us inside." I told him grimly. I was stuck here with "him", he who almost gave me a nearly fatal concussion. You have no idea how hard that guy kicks. Really, all he cares about is soccer, soccer, soccer. What a loser.

I glared at the window and hissed, "I hate you Aelita."

---

**A/N: Uh, yeah. Okay. : This was fun to write so far, and like my other stories, this will most definitely include humor and perhaps idiotic moments. And definitely, DEFINITELY fluff. I live on fluff. And other things.**

Hope you enjoyed it! REVIEW!  
  



	2. Chapter 2: Chat between Haters

**Cyber Love**

**Written by aZn dReAmEeR xD --- the ONE AND ONLYYY. **  
**  
Chapter 2**

**Author's Note: Mweh. I wasn't going to update for some while, but this story is much more interesting to write than everything else I've been working on... Expect next chapter sometime in 2-3 weeks.**

**Read, review, enjoyy!  
**

**----**

**YUMI  
**

My head turned to the screen. My mouth dropped open. "Y-you play Lyoko!" I gasped.

Ulrich turned to me. "Mm hmm."

"I love this game!" I cried, getting somewhat excited. I sat down and reached for the solitary game control next to Ulrich. "Can I play?"

"Wait- wha-?" he dropped his control and instinctively pressed PAUSE. He turned fully to me. "Let me get this straight. You like THIS game. This LYOKO game. B-but you're a popular girl that doesn't care about videogames!"

"Yeah, Lyoko is my favorite videogame. Don't be surprised." I paused to roll my eyes. "I'm not popular, and if I am, it sucks ass. I hate hearing 'oh, its the stupid gorgeous girl, she stole my boyfriend.' or 'hey, check her out.'" I growled with fury. "Fuck those retards who know nothing about me."

"Well, I know how it feels too." the brunette countered, crossing his arms. "As if I'm not sick of the principal's daughter following me around like a love-sick puppy. I'm only not killing her because then I'd be suspended."

"Well, guys are worse, believe me." I answered, sighing, and lying on my back, staring at the cieling. "They're a lot more perverted."

"Not true!" Ulrich replied, trying to defend his gender. "I'm not at least!"

"Mm hmm. Sure." I rolled back over to raise an eyebrow at him, "I doubt it." was all I said, as I grabbed ahold of the game control again. "Are you scared to take on a girl or what?"

"I ain't scared of some girl." he was clearly annoyed.

"Mmm hmmm..."

"I will beat you." he glowered at me. "No girl can defeat a man."

"You? A man? What makes you think that?" I stared at the T.V. screen, feigning boredom just so I wouldn't crack a smile. He was kind of manly, I guess... but inside, he was still a child who was as stubborn as ever.

"Hmph. I'll show you I'm a man." he declared childishly. I erupted into a small fit of giggles which I had been swallowing for the last minute or two.

"I wouldn't be laughing, I have a black belt."

"Impressive, I'll challenge you. It'll be interesting."

"Are you sure you want me to give you another fatal concussion?"

"We'll see. So are we playing?"

"Thought you'd never ask."

"Um, I did ask before."

"Oh..." he sweat-dropped, and turned to me again. "Are you sure you don't like the game just because of Rick?"

"No!" I glared at him. I hated this guy a lot more than usual. "Girls don't always think about guys, you know!"

"Oh, yeah, right." He rolled his eyes, and crossed his tanned arms, looking at me defiantly. ... He had a very well-built chest that showed over his tight green shirt, ah, Aelita was right, he really isn't that bad-looking.

... What the freaking freak?

Nuh-uh, Ulrich is a gigantic loser that is clueless about the opposite gender.

"Haven't you heard of the Theo Incident? After that, I haven't dated. It's just a waste of my time. I really don't feel like this guy making out with another girl right in front of my face when he asked ME out. He's a complete fag." I seethed, fists clenching, about to go into a big curse-off.

"Oh…" he eyed me, and reluctantly placed a firm hand on my shoulder. With him doing so, I strangely calmed down. His shark-tooth hung from a thin strap of leather around his neck. The tooth went well with his shirt and skin. His tight forest-green tee clenched to his body as if unwilling to let go. No wonder girls swooned.

"I'm treating you fairly nicely considering how you almost gave me a fatal concussion!"

"It was an accident, and I'm sorry! At least you're okay now!"

Silence.

"You still want to play? I bet I can beat X.A.N.A. first."

"You're on."

He restarted the game, and LYOKO V. 2 was shown in big black print, with a highlight of red underneath. The X.A.N.A. label was shown in the middle of the big T.V. screen, pulsing.

"Version two!" I gaped. "Woah, I've never seen it before."

"Mm, Jeremie gets a lot of the good stuff."

"I can see that." Using the game control, I picked Yoshi as my character.

We pressed the buttons on the control furiously, as we both raced Aelita to the tower. They had very good 3-D graphics, with crabs and blocks coming out of nowhere.

Then we reached Level 7, with popping purple liquid oozing out. Jack's, the person who controlled the characters' vehicles, and could hack into X.A.N.A.'s system within only a few minutes, face popped up on the right side of the screen, and explained he made a mistake. It was only supposed to go after X.A.N.A., but because Alisha had a virus infested by X.A.N.A. in her, the purple goo thought she was also X.A.N.A.

**ULRICH**

A fierce ring interrupted our concentration as we fought to get through the purple goo without losing life points.

I paused the game and reached for my mobile phone. I flipped it open and said, "Hello?"

"Hey Ulrich!"

"ODD! Why the heck did you lock us in here!" I stood up and flopped onto my bed.

"Uh, um." I could hear him fumbling with something. Probably food.

"Don't you dare hang up. If you're not going to unlock the door, I'm calling the principal."

"Why? Don't you want to spend time with Yumiii?" he teased.

My face reddened just a bit, as I tightened my strong grip on the cell phone. A little more, and it might shatter, and Mother wouldn't be exactly thrilled. Yumi turned towards me, and combed her hair with her fingers, tying it into a small ponytail. I admired her face- she looked like a perfect china doll, excluding the kinomo. She was simply gorgeous, explaining why she was the girl who is called a "tease" most often. When she isn't even one. Yumi's brown eyes were so deep, they looked black- like nothing I've ever seen before. Her beauty was rare in this Junior High..

I growled. "I don't like anyone. Besides, of all people, why would I want to be with her?"

Yumi's head turned as she glanced at me. I couldn't tell if she was hurt or not, but she hated me anyway, so it didn't matter.

"Because you both like Lyoko and I KNOW you like her. Even a little bit, but I know you like her."

"Mm-hmm, sure. I don't like anyone, you loser. Look, we'll talk about this later." I said in a hushed voice. "Just come up and open the door, or I'll call the principal."

"Tattle-tale! Why don't you just climb out the window, huh huh? Or are you too scared?"

"I'll bet you $20 that I will do so, and then tell the principal you're a loser and purposely locked us in to suffocate."

"You wouldn't dare."

"I'm giving you ten seconds. 10… 9…"

I heard rushing of two very slow feet coming upstairs.

"8… 7…"

Yumi stood up and leaned against the wall next to the door. "Losers." She muttered, "Freaking perverts who want to have me dead." She glared at me, but I pretended I didn't notice, although I did feel very uncomfortable under her gaze. However, I had to admit, she was really pretty cute when she was angry and pissed.

"6…5…"

"4, 3, 2… 1 ½…" I tapped my fingers on the cell phone so Odd would hear it loud and clear.

I heard a click.

"1… and… 0. Time's up."

Yumi opened the door, and Odd stumbled in, his face red with exhaustion.

"Hellooo." Yumi bent down and knocked on his head. He groaned and slammed his face onto the floor.

"I'd better get going." She turned and took a few steps. Then she looked at me over her shoulder. And smiled. Hey, that was a first. That beautiful smile that made guys swoon, and practically drop. Believe me, some guy had dropped into his girlfriend's arms once from her smile. His girlfriend slapped him and dumped him the next day. I could have almost sworn she was going to kick him in the balls, saying how he was falling in love with that Ishiyama girl way too often.

"Thanks for the Lyoko game." Her silky voice made her seem like a mysterious figure in the mist… I don't know how to explain it. Her lukewarm voice sent several chilly shivers down my spine, and I shivered.

She raised an eyebrow, and turned the corner. I stared at the space where she had stood.

"You so dig her, duuuude." Odd had now pried his face from the floor. Now, he was still lying on the ground, but with his head lying on his hand, with that "I got you this time…" look.

The look I gave him must have made him frightened because he looked petrified. He stood up abruptly and ran away.

Stupid little retard with the weird hair that can only be seen in freaking cartoons…

----

**NORMAL**

Yumi returned to her room with a sigh. She ran her hand through her shiny black hair, and her beautiful, deep eyes fluttered closed. She allowed her body to shut down and belly-flop onto her cushiony bed.

Her cell phone rang, with a shimmering tone that she enjoyed hearing. She dug her hand into her pockets. She retrieved her high-tech cell phone and pressed it to her ear. The little cute Japanese charm on the end chimed as it clanged onto the cell phone.

"Mama!" she was delighted to hear her mother's voice. "How are you?"

"Fine, Yumi-chan. And you?"

"I'm uh… wonderful!" Yumi answered, clutching her pillow and closing her eyes again.

"That's great to hear."

"So, why'd you call?"

"No particular reason… just wanted to see how you were doing…"

There were murmurs in Japanese that Yumi strained to hear, but failed.

"Yumi-chan?"

"Papa! Konichiwa. What's up?"

"Hiroki… he had an almost fatal car accident."

"WHAT THE FREAK!" Yumi shrieked painfully. She felt a lump in her throat. "Hiroki? HIROKI! Where- how? Is he?"

"He's in the Emergency Room, at the moment, yes…"

"Where are you calling from?"

"Hospital. We'll give you details there, okay?"

"But Papa!" she protested, tears welling up in her eyes. "I… you have to tell Jim, or he'd suspend me for leaving school grounds."

"Tell him it's urgent… we'll call the school tomorrow, please, come over quickly. You may want to bring someone with you… I'm not risking you coming here alone."

"Why not drive me, Papa?"

"We don't want to leave Hiroki's bedside. Besides, the hospital is not very far away from school."

"Who do I bring?"

"It's up to you. We have to go, Yumi-chan. We'll see you there."

"Bye, Papa."

But he had already hung up.

-----

**A/N: I'm kind of bringing my one-shot, Behind These Brown Eyes, into this story. I don't know, I have a sort of forming idea with this… Think Fluff. Hehhh.**

**Please review!**

**--jENN**


	3. Chapter 3: Visit to the Hospital

**Cyber Love: Chapter 3**

**Written by: aZn dReAmEr xD  
**

**A/N: Dedicated to .StArRy.AnImE. for helping out unexpectantly with this chapter! Whoo hooo!  
**

**Ahh, thank you for the reviews!**

**NOTENOTENOTE: I made a mistake on the last chapter. They aren't on Junior High, but in HIGH SCHOOL. Agh, sorry.**

**-----**

Yumi stood, paralyzed. She dropped the phone emotionlessly on the bed, and then soon after, dropped herself, her mind going blank.

Then she bolted up again, and grabbed her phone, stuffing it in her pocket, the thought finally sinking in, and planning to take action.

Her first thought was, "Oh my god, my little brother's in the hospital!"

"How was I supposed to get there? Aelita was out, and parents were expecting for me to come over with someone. And because they were really Asian (strange expression) they would be overly protective, and ask if I had came in a car with someone." Yumi's mind was working rapidly, but only one thought came to her head. (And yeah, asian people should understand...)

"Oh please." She pleaded to no one in particular. "Drastic measures don't always have to call for drastic measures, right?"

She stood up, and sighed. There was no time to lose now. She grabbed her long black coat, and hastily put it on. She ran all the way upstairs to Ulrich's room, and knocked on the door, humiliated. Yumi stuffed her sweaty hands in her pockets, hoping her face wasn't flushing.

Hah, it was. But guys are oblivious to everything, unless the girl's like, on fire. Literally, and un-literal.

The handsome young boy (man?) opened the door, and peered through the crack. Seeing it wasn't Sissy, he opened the door a bit wider.

"Hey, what's up?" he questioned curiously. He knew Yumi wouldn't come to his doorstep ever. She was still pissed that he had almost given her a fatal concussion so many years ago.

Yumi got to the point. "Do you have a car?"

"Uh-huh, my parents gave it to me as an early birthday present. My birthday isn't very far away; you know…" he grinned childishly, as if hoping for a present. "I'm almost seventeen, yah know. I would kind of be upset if I didn't have a driver's license by now."

"Can you drive me to the hospital?" Yumi's voice shuddered, sobs clutching her throat.

His smile faltered until it was nothing left but a small line. "You aren't hurt, are you?" he opened the door to its full potential and immediately walked to her.

"No, it's my brother." she answered, staring at the floor, her mesmirizing brown eyes' shine being wasted on the dull, hardwood floor.

"What's wrong?"

"Does the words, 'I hate cars?' mean anything to you?"

"That's kind of ironic. You hate cars, but you want me to drive you?"

"Please?"

He sighed and looked around. He left a note on the inside part of the door, hoping when he came back that Odd didn't taunt him about Yumi.

"Let's go."

----

As soon as the red car stopped in the parking lot, the beautiful, torn-apart Japanese girl opened the door and slammed it shut with brutal force.

Ulrich was on the verge of telling her to watch the door. He had been nice enough to drive her, and it was a new car too. But he didn't, considering how her baby brother could be dead at this very moment.

"Hiroki..." she mumbled, her usually gleaming eyes blocked by glimmering tears that threatened to fall. If they did, Ulrich wanted to brush them away. But he knew that if he did, Yumi would slap him away. Or would she?

Yumi shook her head slightly, trying to get rid of the tears. She tried hard not to blink. It was a trick every kid knew. You stared ahead to stop crying. If you blinked, all was lost. Yumi couldn't lose her "tough-I-can-kick-yer-ass-anyday" appearance. Everyone saw her as the tough girl, someone they know would protect them, someone who would never, ever cry. And besides "perfect" girls never, ever cry.

But tears didn't make you weaker on the outside or inside. Yumi didn't know that.

She ran inside, and asked for directions. Soon enough, she ended up in the Waiting Room, outside of a series of halls.

Ulrich sat beside her in one of the white, almost broken chairs.

"Do you want me to stay?" he questioned, looking at her through the corner of his eye.

Yumi shrugged, a single tear sliding down her perfect skin.

He sat there, twiddling his thumbs. After a few minutes, she turned to him, a few tear-stains on her face. "Aren't you going to leave?" she sniffled. "Why would you want to be close to the girl who apparently hates you because you gave her a concussion?"

He just smiled softly. "When my grandfather died, no one was there with me in the Waiting Room. My parents were on his way over." he stared into the emptiness of the Waiting Room. "I know how it feels to have someone on the verge of dying, Yumi." he whispered, closing his eyes. "Don't you ever dare say that I didn't. I loved my grandfather, but he died because of a heart attack, right in the middle of the living room. Quite ironic... the living room, but it was where he gave one of his last breaths..."

"I-I'm sorry..."

"I know how it feels to have someone to sit next to you. Just the presence of them being there can comfort you. Even if it's someone you hate; unless they're quiet. I'll try to be that way for you so I don't annoy you." he said emotionlessly. "And don't be sorry, it was no one's fault. Destiny and fate work together to create such a tragedy, and in the end, you will see each other again, so there's no use to get worked up about it. Spirits are always flying around, checking up on you every so often."

Yumi turned her head to smile at him. "Thanks. Maybe I don't hate you as much as I thought I did."

And he smiled back.

"Yumi? You're allowed to come in now. As well as your company," a nurse turned the corner and told her. She was dressed in all white, her gloved hands clasped together firmly.

"Okay." Yumi stood up, and Ulrich stood up as well.

"Should I go inside?" he questioned for her permission.

"Well, you're the only company I have, right?" Yumi shrugged, smiling a bit, but it diminished quickly.

"I guess, unless you have an imaginary friend called Bob."

"Why Bob?"

"I don't know..."

Yumi reluctantly followed the nurse with Ulrich in tow. They walked down a few halls, and came to the Emergency Room, where her solemn mother and father stood. Her father looked grim, staring at nothing, and her mother's face was tear-stained with shiny tears.

She was muttering regrets in Japanese. Translated, they were something about how she should have never left him standing there, she should have stayed by his side the entire time.

"Mama... it's okay." Yumi whispered, rushing to her mother's side, and hugging her. "Hiroki will make it out alive."

"I hope so, Yumi-chan." she answered, wiping her tears, and trying to smile, avoiding looking at her son's still body. "So, who is this fine, young man?"

Ulrich grinned and shot Yumi a "SEE? TOLD YOU SO!" look. She glared at him, and jerked her chin towards her mother, indicating for him to shut up.

"This is Ulrich, Mama..." she chuckled nervously. "He was the only one with a car..."

"Ah I see! Nice to meet you. Thank you for driving Yumi all the way up here!" Mrs. Ishiyama tried hard to be optimistic, but the shuddering, teary voice was still there.

"No problem, it was only a mere three minutes..." Ulrich wiped the back of his head with his hand, sweat-dropping.

"Driving is driving, isn't it?" Yumi's mother countered in a much nicer tone than Yumi would have done it. Ah, so this is where Yumi had got her practicalness from...

"Yeah, I guess so." Ulrich shrugged.

"Is Hiroki okay?" Yumi asked her mother worriedly. She stuffed her hands into her pockets, staring at the ground.

"Doctor?" Mrs. Ishiyama questioned the doctor.

"He's alive, but barely. We'll have to see what we can do. It's a 50/50 chance..." The Doctor answered, not finishing his sentence. He didn't want to, and he knew the family didn't want to hear it either. Hiroki was connected to lots of gray machinery, all making peculiar noises of some sort. All sorts of beeping were heard.

And that's exactly what Yumi wanted to do.

Beep. Beep, beep, beep the car that hit Hiroki, freaking beep beep beep the beep world.

BEEP...

---

Meanwhile, Aelita and Jeremie had just finished a pleasant stroll around the park, and had a nice cup of cappuccino. Jeremie had even insisted on buying a slice of strawberry cheesecake for Aelita, which, she had to admit, was pretty sweet. It was pink, it was strawberry, and it was DEFINITELY tasty. No other stupid quarterback guy in High School had ever done anything but buy her pizza and then stuff their freaking large mouths into them.

Suddenly, Jer's mobile rang right after they stepped foot outside the café.

"Hello?" he questioned.

"Oh, Odd, hey… uh-huh, it's going good… wait what? Okay." Jeremie handed his cell phone to his date.

"Hey Odd, what's up?" she listened for awhile longer, with Jeremie staring at her with a curious look on his face. She pressed a finger to her soft, pink lips, signaling for him to keep quiet. He mentally drooled.

"Yumi? Hospital? With Ulrich? I don't know whether to be happy or sad…" the emotion on her face had no words to describe. Some feelings are just beyond what words can tell. "I want to go, but I can't. Jim has that nightly check-up thing now, remember? I have to get back, but I'll call her later. Mm hmm. Okay. Thanks, bye."

"Yumi's brother, Hiroki, is in the hospital. She needs support, but we have to go back to school, or we're gonna get in serious trouble. We'll call her when we get back." Aelita's face was pale as she sighed.

"Mmkay. Sounds like a plan." Jeremie agreed. He took back his cell phone and turned it off, grinning a little bit at Aelita. She grinned back, showing off slightly her pearl-white teeth.

They walked silently back to their school. Jeremie slowly reached for her slender hand, and intertwined his fingers with hers. Her hands felt sweet and cold, and it sent shivers down his spine. He had never felt such a way with a girl before, and it was giving him the chills by such strong feelings. He really felt like he loved her, only if they only knew each other for a short while.

They soon reached to their destination- Kadic. They reached a dead end, in which they were supposed to separate into each other's dorms.

Jeremie was blushing furiously, his face was on fire, and looked like a very ripe tomato. Aelita was just… pink, matching her shirt. She had a policy with Yumi about kissing guys on the first date. First reason why they DIDN'T kiss guys on the first date- they had to examine them more. If you kiss, it's almost like you're a couple. If someone sees you, they will assume you are a couple, and blather all over school. And finally, one of the most important reasons, the guy might slobber on you like a dog, or go overboard.

But Jeremie didn't seem like a dog-kissing kind of guy. Besides, Yumi would understand if Aelita maybe- just maybe- broke their rule just this once.

"Well, I, uh, had a lot of fun tonight." Jeremie stuttered, cracking a tiny smile. He was absolutely adorable when he was nervous.

"So did I," Aelita looked away, her eyes cast on the rocky ground below them. Should she? Would she? Could she? These questions ran through her mind like a Dr. Seuss book. She kept her eyes on the ground so she didn't have to look at his face.

"Well, I'll see you at Science tomorrow." Jeremie placed a hand on her arm and gently pulled her closer. It was a courageous step for the little guy, who was forever nervous. He had went out on a small "outing" with Taelia before, a while ago, a semi-popular girl with red hair.

She was an Aelita-worshipper, which explains the same hairstyle, accessories, and cosmetics. Things hadn't gone too well when Jeremie had anxiously leaned in to kiss her on maybe the third date. She had pulled away, making him fall right in front of his face. She dumped him right then and there- turns out, she was only dating him to dump him later, something about he was too geeky.

How she would have wished she hadn't said that... her role model was going out with him. And anyway, it's so much better to have the real thing than the phony, snobbier one.

Thank god Odd had stuffed Jeremie's mouth with mint gum and made him chew it until every breath he took was minty freshh.

Surprisingly, Aelita didn't pull away. His arm supported her as her thin arms began to move forward, and wrap around his neck. They leaned in, and Jeremie's heart must have exploded. He had never kissed, and was afraid that he would mess up, and Aelita would dump him- she was truly what every guy wanted.

They were so close now, they could feel the other's body heat. They felt each other's warm breath against their skin. Their eyes closed, and they leaned in more, only a millimeter away from kissing.

**_RING! RING!_**

Even as the sharp ringing continued, they stayed in each other's arms. As the fact that it was someone's cell phone sank in, they sprang apart, blushing furiously again. They both reached into their pockets, to dig out their cell phone.

"Oh my god. I forgot to turn mine off!" Aelita growled at her cell phone, and smacked her head.

She glanced at Jeremie apologetically, and flipped it open. "Hello?"

"Aelita! FINALLY!" Odd's ignorant, loud voice was heard. "Jeremie's cell phone was freaking turned off!"

"So I've heard."

"Ahhh, it's that voice that Jeremie used when I almost interrupted his "almost-kiss" with Taelia. Did I interrupt something?"

"Oh, no, you didn't do anything at all." Aelita's voice was coated with sarcasm.

"Oh, okay! Thank god, I actually thought I interrupted something by the sound of your voice!"

"…"

"What?"

"Sarcasm, Odd."

"…Well I'm a blonde! Haven't you realized that by now!"

"What are you trying to say? Jer's a blonde too."

"Well, Jeremie's one of those smart blondes. I'm a dumb blonde." Odd defended himself- kind of.

"Sure, if you say so… why'd you call, anyway? It better be important."

"Oh, it is! You have to tell Jeremie he still owes me a whole week of doing my homework. And that he has to walk Kiwi tomorrow."

"…That's why you called? What'd you do for him?"

"He told me not to tell you."

"Ah, all right. Anything else?"

"And that Yumi's staying over at the hospital, so you'll have to get her homework."

"How about Ulrich?"

"No idea."

"Oh, okay."

"Don't forget to tell Jer. Kiwi needs to go to the bathroom around 6 AM in the morning."

"Why couldn't you tell him by yourself?"

"Too lazy. Besides, we have different rooms."

"Okay, bye Odd."

"G'night."

Aelita hung up, and told Jeremie what Odd said.

"What did he do for you?"

"Stuff."

"Odd can't do anything!"

"Eh."

"C'mon, tell me!"

"Maybe someday." Jeremie shrugged, smiling. "Good night."

"G'night." Aelita smiled back, her pearl-white teeth showing off in the moonlight. She leaned over, and pecked him on the cheek. Then she bounced away, quietly humming to herself.

"…Wow," was all Jeremie could utter that night as he walked home, spinning in circles, dazed to pieces.

--

**A/N: Awwww. They almost kissedddd. I thought it was too early for them to you know, make out or something, so I postponed it. Or, better yet, ODD postponed it, so feel free to throw stuff at him in reviews if you're a JxA fan.**

**Well… yeah. This will be a typical teenager story dealing with adolescence problems that will later on mentally kill them. Ahh, what a life.**

**READ AND REVIEW! Please. –glare-**

**--jENN**


	4. Chapter 4: Back to School

**Cyber Love;; Chapter 4**

**By aZn dReAmEr xD**

**Author's Note: **

**Thank you for all the reviews, everyone! I really appreciate it!**

**This chapter is dedicated to the student who died in my school. It isn't fair for those who died innocently- it really isn't. They didn't do anything wrong, but… that's just life, I guess. R.I.P Sam.**

**Please read, review, and enjoy! **

**--**

Ulrich had eventually walked home, due to Yumi's insistence. She, however, stayed. She finally fell asleep after a few hours of weeping, crying, and self-pity.

She woke up to a rainy, gloomy day that portrayed only devastation. She sighed, adjusting herself in the uncomfortable chair in the Waiting Room. Her parents had kicked her out of the Emergency Room since she was crying too much, and because she wanted to sleep.

She yawned, stretching. Yumi tiredly put two feet on the ground, unsteadily looking for the Emergency Room. But her parents found her in the hallway.

"Yumi, dear, why are you up?" her mother yawned.

"Mama, it's 11 AM." Yumi rolled her eyes.

"Oh." Her mother answered, knocking herself into a wall, her eyes drooping with every second passing.

"What happened to Hiroki?" Yumi questioned, afraid of the answer.

"He's been put in a coma." Her father replied, sighing.

"IS HE GOING TO DIE?" Yumi shouted anxiously, grasping her father's shoulders with an abnormal strength. "Please! Say no, please!" she sank down to the ground, clutching her father's legs as if she were two again. "Please!"

"I don't know, sweetheart. I don't know." He said somberly.

Yumi was deadly silent.

"Why don't you go back to school? Maybe it'll help you get your mind off of things." He suggested.

"But Papa, Hiroki-"

"Yumi," he said in a stern voice. "GO."

"… Yes, Papa." Yumi muttered, running out of the hall. She grabbed her long, black coat from a rusty chair in the Waiting Room, and threw it on. She hurried out of the hospital, her tears blending in with the heavy rain outside.

She knew where the school was by heart. She raced through the trees, past the fountain, and rushed through the gate to find herself in front of the school. She breathed heavily, panting, half-dead. No life.

She burst through the doors, and opened her mouth to scream, but no voice came out. She calmed herself down, by fanning herself with her hands. She was still screaming mentally, but at least on the outside, she looked a bit calmer.

Yumi walked slowly into the office, and found Ms. Heines, the new secretary. She was young, with medium-length blonde hair. Yumi was guessing she had just gotten out of college.

"Excuse me, but may I have a late pass?" Yumi took a moment to clear her cracking voice, and swallowed a few times. She disguised her voice with a sweet, serene one, a voice that heard no troubles.

"Of course, dear. Name?" Ms. Heines's silky voice asked.

"Yumi Ishiyama."

"Homeroom?"

"Mrs. Herkle."

"Reason for tardiness?"

"Temporary illness."

"Okay dear, here you go." Ms. Heines placed the pass on the counter without looking at her. She was engrossed with her cell phone.

"Thanks." Yumi rushed out of there, her black boots sliding every which way in the hallway.

She found her Math class, and hastily opened the door, with her soaking wet hair dripping on the floor. A great image, huh?

That's when it struck her. She had forgotten to stop by her locker to pick up her books. She hadn't taken the time to dry herself off. Her black coat was dripping wet, her hair was straight, but soaking wet strands of hair, and her pants soaking wet from her boots splashing into puddles. Water ran down her face.

"Ms. Ishiyama?" Mr. Hertz raised an eyebrow. He was Mrs. Hertz's husband. Mrs. Hertz was a Science teacher for the seventh grade, a teacher in which Yumi had. Mr. Hertz taught Math.

"Um. Yes?"

Gasps, snickers, and whispers clouded the room.

Ulrich stared at her, a bit worriedly. She glanced at him, and smiled a bit. Then turned her head back to Mr. Hertz.

"Here's my late pass, Mr. Hertz. I'm sorry I'm late." She handed the pass to him confidently.

"All right then…" he said, scanning the pass. "Try not to be late too often, Ms. Ishiyama. Have you forgotten your math textbook?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Take a seat next to Mr. Stern. Your forgetful classmates around you have forgotten their math supplies as well." He glared at the students, but their heads remained buried in the book, trying to avoid his deadly gaze.

"Very well." Yumi slid into the chair besides Ulrich, and looked over his shoulder to peer at the Math text.

Ulrich moved the textbook so it was in the middle of them. He could feel burning, envious gazes of both genders staring at them, but he brushed it off.

Yumi didn't talk about the events that happened the night before, looking as confident, as pride as she always did. She would keep maintaining her popular and perfect image as always. Whatever she did, how she did it, and when she did it would only melt into the mind, until it would disappear. Yumi would forever remain her popularity, even if she came into the class all wet. Her beauty always shone through it all.

Mr. Hertz's class ticked by slowly, as he began to talk about polynomials.

Yumi stretched under her desk, and yawned. "Nap time."

Her head hit the desk, and sleep finally caught up to her. Ulrich stared at the peaceful girl beside him, and sighed.

The life of a high-schooler was complicated.

---

"YUMI!" Aelita gasped, rushing towards her best friend as soon as Lunch came.

"Hey," Yumi smiled, dropping into Aelita's wide arms.

"Are you okay? Ohmygod, is everything okay? You don't look good."

"I'm fine… Hiroki's in a coma though. I don't want to talk about it." Yumi sighed.

"All right then…"

"How was your date?"

"HE'S SO SWEET!" Aelita gushed. "He bought me strawberry cheesecake! And you KNOW how much I love pink cheesecake."

"You… do?"

"Well, now I do!" she sighed happily.

"Mm hmm…"

Aelita went on and on, as Yumi listened, playing with her meatballs and gravy. It wasn't exactly her choice of lunch.

It was helpless. The pink-dressed girl was never going to shut up.

--

**Later: After School**

Yumi collapsed on her bed, tired than she was before. She got up, and went to her computer.

She signed on, wondering if anyone was online.

Only one person was online today- lyokowarrior8. She barely knew the guy, but it was fun talking to him.

**silentnightmares: **Hey.**  
lyokowarrior8: **Hey, what's up?

Yumi pondered what to say, then finally came up with an answer.

**silentnightmares: **My life sucks, for lack of better words.  
**lyokowarrior8: **Eh, mine too.**  
silentnightmares: **Why? What happened? It can't be much worse than my life.**  
lyokowarrior8: **Maybe not. You go first.**  
silentnightmares: **A family member was in an accident and was sent to the hospital.**  
lyokowarrior8: **God, that's horrible. My "friend" went through the same thing.  
**silentnightmares: **And to make it worse, I might like this guy who probably doesn't like me back.  
**lyokowarrior8: **Nah, I'm sure he likes you. But I might like this girl who definitely doesn't like me back. She has this image, that makes you go, "Woah." She's popular, pretty, smart, but she hides it so well, it's insane.  
**silentnightmares: **: Hm, I might be good friends with this girl.  
**lyokowarrior8: **Come to think of it, you might. You guys would be really close friends, actually.**  
silentnightmares: **But I might really like this guy, but I don't want to. I'm sure I don't. He's probably just a jerk, even though he did offer to drive me, and he said he was sorry for an accident that occurred a few years ago.**  
silentnightmares: **He's probably just kissing up to me or something. Omggg, what do I freaking do?**  
lyokowarrior8: **Uh.**  
silentnightmares: **Mm hmm, thanks for the help.**  
lyokowarrior8: **You're very welcome.  
**lyokowarrior8: **Hey, don't feel bad. I might like a girl who doesn't like me back, and I don't know what to do about it. I probably don't like her though, it's usually just a short-term thing. She hates me. I dont know wadda do about it.   
**silentnightmares: **Um. Well… don't do anything about it.  
**lyokowarrior8: **Okay then… I still have a lot more problems, you know.  
**silentnightmares: **Oh, joy.  
**silentnightmares: **I'd love to stay and chat, but I g2g. It's nice to know I'm not alone in the world in the world though.

Yumi, it's a smaller world than you think.

--   
**A/N: Bleh. Not content with this chapter, but I don't really have the mind to think about what I could do to make it better. Lots of schoolwork to do, so better off to just get this off my mind...**

**Teachers have to be so freaking evil, giving students stupid, retarded projects RIGHT before Spring Break. I mean, wtf, that's like, cruelty to their own species! GAH.**

**... Anyway. READ AND REVIEW! Please and thank you.**

**OH! And before I forget, go and read FOX KITSUNE'S stories. They are GREAT, she's a such a nice person and a REALLYYY good authoress. So go on and read and review her stories; you won't regret it!**

**--Jenn  
**


	5. Chapter 5: The Ulrich Fan Club

**Cyber Love;; Chapter 5**

**A/N: Okay, this chapter is really short, I know even with the short segment I added which was supposed to be the next chapter. Srsly, I know this isn't worth the wait, at ALL. I'm hoping the next chapter will be better? I have a few ideas so... we'll see. :D  
**

**-**

**The Next Day**

The chatter of students filled the hallway. Gossip and rumors flew around faster than a tornado in this school- in any school, really.

"Did you hear? Yumi was late yesterday with a soaking raincoat. Her hair was like, oh my godd. It was so freaking wet, and Mr. Hertz didn't even yell at her!"

"You serious? But she always looks perfect…"

"Today, she looks better, at least…"

And indeed, she did look better- **much** better. Not wet at all, in fact.

Yumi strutted into school with her black knapsack over her shoulder. It was decorated with a few random patches were knitted into her backpack. One of a smilie, others scribbled with big handwriting like the kind you see in New York on closed garages of stores. She wasn't goth, just… unique.

She wore a tight pitch-black t-shirt with a skull on the bottom left-hand side of it. Fading blue-black capris adorned her model-like legs. Stylish, squeaky clean boots moved swiftly through the hallway with confidence. Her face showed no worry, only perfection, confidence, and no worries.

It was true. She was popular. Though punkish and sort of goth, it was her uniqueness, beauty, and confidence that made her the most popular, wanted, and envied girl in school. Guys stared at her in uncomfortable places. Girls glanced at her enviously, sighing, wishing they were her.

With her head high, she walked through school, until she got to her locker, 978. She opened it up on the first try, while everyone else around her only got it on the second or third try.

Life looked so easy for Ms. Ishiyama.

It was just a façade. A lie. All of it.

No one would know how she was falling apart.

How she was being torn limb by limb. How she tried so hard to maintain her composure. How hard it was to just not break down in the hallway in uncontrollable sobs.

But, let's not get into details of her now miserable existence.

She continued to gracefully place books in her locker as if everything was great. Her face was filled with confidence. The thought that kept her strong replayed in her head: "I must be strong for Hiroki. I have to."

She sighed. It was hard being the bigger, older, supposedly-perfect role-model sister. She organized her books in her locker, and took out her morning books, then slammed her locker shut with abnormal force. The entire row of lockers shook, quivering. The other students jumped back and stared at her, scared.

Yumi stared back, her eyes narrowing. She wasn't in the mood. She strolled down the hallway, her head high.

The bell rang.

School had begun.

-

Ulrich finished neatly retrieving the books from his locker. As he slammed the locker shut, the bell rang.

Head heavy with thoughts, he left for his next class. On the way, he found Miss Ishiyama, walking with her head high, as if nothing was wrong.

She was such a great actress.

"Yumi," he greeted as he walked closer, "How's Hiroki?"

Yumi looked as if she were in an internal struggle. In the end, her head simply dropped down. "I-I don't know…"

Her body began to shudder and shake.

Ulrich, not knowing what to do, put his arms around her, one arm painfully carrying all his books.

"It's okay," he soothed. "It's okay."

In secrecy, the Ulrich Fan Club stared at Yumi enviously. She was probably just faking it so Ulrich would put his arm around her. Hm, the president thought sinisterly, another strategy.

"Milly!" she ordered. "Fake being sick."

"… W-what? B-but Sissy- w-wh-?"

"Do it." Commanded Sissy, president of the club.

"… Y-yes Sissy." Milly took a moment to collect herself, then started coughing violently. She fell to her knees. The girls of the club quickly walked away, peering at the scene at the side of a wall of lockers.

Yumi stopped shuddering, and took a moment to wipe her tears away. She held his hand as Ulrich walked to Milly.

"Are you okay?" he asked, somewhat concerned.

"N-no!" Milly looked pale, still coughing violently. "Help me, please!"

Ulrich looked around, then spotted a teacher. "I'll get help. Yumi, help her walk."

Yumi nodded worriedly, as she helped Milly up. Milly glanced at Sissy, who nodded and urged her to go forward with the plan.

"Is this really going to work?" Emily asked Sissy.

"Of course!" Sissy rolled her eyes.

Tamiya gazed at Milly, hoping that Milly wouldn't give them away.

Milly glanced back hopelessly at Tamiya, not knowing what the heck she was supposed to do.

Ulrich put helped Yumi pick Milly up- making Sissy smile evilly with satisfaction- then disappeared into the infirmary.

"Ah, well, that plan worked out fine, didn't it girls?" Sissy grinned, clasping her hands together in a job well done.

They shook their heads, rolling their eyes.

"HEYY! COME BACK!"

-

"So… Mr. Stern, Ms. Ishiyama, how nice to have you in class today." Mr. Hertz smiled sickeningly sweet.

He got pissed when his students were late.

Ulrich smiled back nervously, whilst Yumi just held her head high, her eyes icy blackish brown.

"Any reason for your tardiness?"

"Yes, in fact." Yumi held her stare, her icy eyes still boring into Mr. Hertz. "Milly was very sick and we sent her to the infirmary."

"Oh, sure. That's like hearing your dog ate your homework." Mr. Hertz glared at Odd, who chuckled uneasily. "We all know dogs are not allowed on campus, and still he uses that classic excuse…"

Odd coughed. He had his dog, Kiwi, in his room at the moment. So it technically was not a lie. But it'd be worse if he found out that Odd did have a dog, so… Odd wasn't complaining.

"Sit down."

Yumi and Ulrich immediately sat, this time not next to each other since Yumi had brought her textbook this time.

"Next time this happens, I _will _give you detention." He warned.

Then he cleared his throat, then began talking again.

"Oh, screw this." Yumi sighed. She already knew everything. She always convinced herself, 'You're not smart, everyone else is just stupid.'

And with that, she fell asleep.

-

"How's your day?" Aelita smiled pleasantly, still dreaming about nerd boy, most likely.

It was lunch- socializing time. Yumi and Aelita bought lunch and found a table near the window.

"Got detention from Mr. Hertz," Yumi frowned dejectedly, "for falling asleep in class. I mean, really, I can't help it. I know everything already…"

"I know you do." Aelita patted Yumi's shoulder. "You're just not smart enough to be with the nerds."

"Hey!" Jeremie teased playfully. He slid into the seat next to Aelita, smiling shyly at her.

"Heyyy," Aelita smiled dreamily at him, kissing him on the cheek, and ruffling his hair.

"Hey!" Jeremie cried again, trying to smooth out his hair.

"Stop it, it looks cool." Aelita told him, smacking his hand away from his hair.

"She should know." Yumi chimed in.

Jeremie sighed, and gave in. "Okay, okay…"

In spite of Yumi's sadness, she smiled at the kind-of couple. They were so cute together.

"So," she said, nonchalantly, "Are you two a couple now?"

Jeremie sat looking nervous, whilst Aelita glared at Yumi.

Yumi only smiled sweetly. "Well?"

"Um… I guess… we are, right?" Jeremie looked hopefully at Aelita. Aelita turned towards him, with her mouth open. "We… are?"

Yumi grinned. Hm. She wasn't so bad at matchmaking herself. Okay, well, it wasn't entirely matchmaking… but still.

Jeremie shrugged shyly, and looked at the table. Aelita turned his face towards her, and kissed him. Jeremie's face was plastered with shock, but he soon just melted into it, turning it into an intense make-out session. A crowd of students coming in saw, and stared, giggling and whispering.

But the couple were seemingly deaf to everything right now.

Yumi let out a small laugh. "I guess I'll be going now…"

And the girl left on a happy note, leaving her best friend making out with a nerd.

-

The day was over, at last. 

"Ah, finally!" Yumi smiled as Aelita thrust her fist into the air. Aelita had been happy ever since Lunch.

_RING, RING!_

"Oh, that's my cell… I'll see you later, Aelita." Yumi waved Aelita away. Aelita waved, and rushed off.

Yumi flipped open her cell. "Hello?"

"Yumi!" her mother's voice.

"Mama! How is Hiroki?"

"Still in a coma, dear."

"… Oh."

"Look Yumi, go home now, I will be home around 6 to make dinner. I need to arrange things with Kadic. Hopefully, tomorrow, you will be able to have a dorm here."

"Wha--?"

"I'll talk to you tonight, okay? I love you!" her mother hung up.

Yumi stared at her cell phone. Things were going way too fast. But since her mother was going home at six, she might as well go to Aelita's dorm until then.

She rushed to her locker, dumping things into her backpack at lightening speed. She flung her locker shut and ran to Aelita's locker. Aelita was still there, talking to Jeremie and blushing.

"Hey Aelita, Jeremie!" Yumi panted.

"Oh hi Yumi!" Aelita grinned, stars in her eyes.

"Can I go to your dorm today? I have to talk to you." Yumi asked.

"Yeah, of course! Is it okay if Jer is there too?" Aelita smiled at Jeremie. "You can always invite Ulrich, Yumiii!" she teased.

Yumi rolled her eyes. "Let's go."

-

**A/N: I hope it was good enough... x.x;; Please review, anyway. I know it wasn't worth the wait and everything but... I'm going to make the next chapter a lot better. This is sort of a filler chapter. Sort of. I assure you, the chapter will hopefully be better next time! I was rereading this chapter just now, and it gave me a surge of inspiration. xP Please review!  
**

**--jenn**


	6. Chapter 6: A Chain of Events

**Cyber Love;; Chapter 6**

**By aZn DREAMER xD**

**A/N: Yes! Later in the chapter I FINALLYYY overcame my writers block for this darned story. ... Right before school starts in like two weeks. Rawr. But next week I'm FINALLYYY going to probablyyy do something. SIX FLAGS! ghh! And doing some shopping at NY, ghhhh!  
**

**Ohmygosh. Oh shhh. x.x … I made a mistake here. But if you didn't find it, good. If you did find it… ignore it! Arghh xx;; So many X smilies. See, now you know I feel really… eughhh! Okay, yeah, just read.  
**

**-  
**  
Aelita and Yumi were on Aelita's pink bed, while Jeremie was sitting Indian-style on the floor.

"So, what did you want to talk about, Yumi?"

"After today, I get to stay at Kadic!" Yumi squealed. In a split second, her face dropped. "But it's only because of Hiroki."

"Ohh… Hiroki," Aelita looked somber. "But it's great you'll get to stay here! We're going to have so much fun!"

Yumi smiled. Aelita always looked on the bright side.

"You're right. It's going to be a lot of fun." Yumi grinned.

Jeremie smiled too, not really knowing what to say. Yumi knew he was itching badly to talk to Aelita (AKA he was itching badly to make out with Aelita).

"Hey Ae, can I use your laptop?" Yumi asked.

"Oh, yeah sure." Aelita handed over her wireless to Yumi. Yumi playfully shoved Jeremie off the bed and closer to Aelita so Yumi could lie on the bed.

Yumi signed on Instant Messanger as silentnightmares. Lyokowarrior8 was on, as always. He always signed on the same time she did. …Hm. Suspicious.

**silentnightmares: **heyy!  
**lyokowarrior8: **sup  
**silentnightmares: **boring day. You?  
**lyokowarrior8: **yeah, same. Got yelled at by a teacher.  
**silentnightmares: **Same. As always. Hey, I never got around to asking what your name was.  
**lyokowarrior8: **You can just call me Rick. What about you?  
**silentnightmares: **You can call me Yoshi xD My first name is sort of "unused" around here so it'd be easier for you to stalk me if you knew it ;  
**lyokowarrior8: **Ok, ok fine, "Yoshi"… you live in France right?  
**silentnightmares: **Bonjour.  
**lyokowarrior8: **I take it as a yes.  
**silentnightmares: **Soo, whatcha doing?  
**lyokowarrior8: **Watching my best friend make a stupid "BREAKBREAKBREAKDANCE" video. You?  
**silentnightmares: **Watching my best friend and her boyfriend make goo-goo eyes at each other. Revolting.   
**lyokowarrios8: **haha, I see my best friend do that all the time to passing girls.  
**silentnightmares: **lolll, oh you're so lucky.  
**lyokowarrior8: **YUP, I know.  
**silentnightmares: **You know, I want to see a picture of you.  
**lyokowarrior8: **haha well, you can't.  
**silentnightmares: **omgg, come on! I bet you'd look great! You have girls worshipping you and everything, right?  
**lyokowarrior8: **yeah, but I'm NOT going to show you.  
**silentnightmares: **… why?  
**lyokowarrior8: **Because. You're not showing me yours anyway.  
**silentnightmares: … **well, that's different  
**lyokowarrior8: **see!   
**silentnightmares: **this is an absolutely pointless conversation..  
**lyokowarrior8: **yea, you think?  
**silentnightmares: **yup.  
**lyokowarrior8: **hold on a sec I gotta go get my friend from his girlfriend's bedroom…  
**silentnightmares: **hmm?  
**lyokowarrior8: **NO, not like that! He's too much of a goody two shoes to do that, believe me.  
**lyokowarrior8: **I swear, swear to God.   
**silentnightmares: **hahaha fine, fine. See ya.  
**lyokowarrior8: **Later, ttyl.

**Lyokowarrior8 has signed off.**

"Hm." Yumi closed the laptop and lay on Aelita's bed. There was something so familiar about him. If only she could put her finger on it-  
_  
KNOCK! KNOCK!_

"Ah! I'll get it, you lovebirds can stay there and keep making out with each other." Yumi smirked as they blushed, holding hands and sitting criss-crossed apple-sauced (xPPPP)

Yumi opened the door to reveal Ulrich. "Hey Yumi!" he said happily.

"Hi Ulrich!" she responded with the same amount of enthusiasm. She heard Aelita giggle behind her. Yumi moved back a few steps to kick Aelita, thus receiving a loud "OWWW!", then hopped back up to Ulrich. "What're you here for?"

"To get Jer." Ulrich answered, peeking in to see the room.

"Oh…" Yumi managed to say, her mind whirring. What a coincidence. But what if—Ah, forget it. She brushed it off and returned to reality, all smiles.

"Hey Jer, done making out with your girlfriend? Or whatever you crazy kids are doing," he smirked.

"Don't worry, they have a chaperone." Yumi grinned, while Ulrich laughed.

Aelita gazed at both of them, her eyes sparkling, and her mouth twitching, curling up to a sinister smile.

Yumi and Ulrich glanced at each other and then nervously back at the evil-looking Aelita.

"Aelita?" Jeremie said worriedly to his girlfriend.

She snapped out of it, and smiled to Jeremie. "Yes?"

"Is something wrong?"

"Ohhhh, nothing at all… C'mon Jer, we have to talk." Aelita pushed Yumi and Ulrich out the door, and locked it.

The Japanese girl looked bewildered at the brunette. They both glanced simultaneously at the door, and quickly pressed their bodies against it, eavesdropping.

All they heard was Aelita and Jeremie's whispers and girly giggles. Ugh.

"I wonder what they're doing…" Yumi jerked her head towards the door.

"Ditto."

"Maybe something inappropriate."

"Hmmm… it makes me wonder. Maybe Jer isn't such a goody-goody after all.."

"You never know. Nerds always surprise me…"

"Want to go back to my room and play videogames or something?"

"Sure!"

They traveled back to Ulrich's room, and closed the door.

"Give me a second," Ulrich hastily went on his bed and opened his paper-thick laptop.

"Woahhh, your laptop is so skinny…" Yumi gasped, examining the laptop.

"Yeah, I guess." Ulrich shrugged as he went online.

"Hey, can I use the laptop? Odd won't mind, right?" Yumi questioned, taking Odd's wireless laptop.

"Nah," Ulrich shrugged.

Yumi nodded, and opened the laptop, turning it on. In half a minute, it was loaded.

She went on Instant Messanger and signed on.

**lyokowarrior8: **hey  
**silentnightmares:** oh hi! You just got on?  
**lyokowarrior8: **yup, u?  
**silentnightmares: **mmhmm.  
**lyokowarrior8: **wow. coincidence.   
**silentnightmares: **yeah. Hm.  
**lyokowarrior8: **sooo whats up?  
**silentnightmares: **at my friends.  
**lyokowarrior8: **oh nice.  
**lyokowarrior8: **well im bored, so im gonna go play Lyoko  
**silentnightmares: **yea, I'm going 2 go too. Ttyl?  
**lyokowarrior8: **yup  
**silentnightmares: **btw, I still want to see your picture.  
**lyokowarrior8: **hah. G'luck with that.  
**silentnightmares: **… thx. Bye!

**silentnightmares has signed off.  
lyokowarrior8 has signed off.**

The two closed the laptops simultaneously.

"So, what were you doing online?" they asked at the same time. They smiled at each other.

"Ohh, nothing." Yumi answered slyly, looking at her feet.

"I see…" Ulrich raised an eyebrow.

"What about you?"

"Just talking to someone…"

"That you don't know, huh?"

"I never said that!"

"Psh. Who cares what you say? I can see it in your eyes." Yumi laughed, saying the last part mysteriously.

Ulrich rolled his eyes. "I'm bored. Lyoko anyone?"

"Sure!" Yumi grinned.

And you'd think she would put two and two together…

Teenagers..

So blind..

The two sat down on the carpet floor and Ulrich plugged in the cables, and started the game.

Yumi and Ulrich began tapping the control buttons furiously, trying to escape X.A.N.A.'s evil crabs and the brain-sucking squid thing that wanted Alisha's memory.

Alisha screamed, as the squid put its tentacles to her head, beginning to suck out her memory.

"Ulrich!" Yumi yelled in frantic nervousness. Ulrich looked concentrated as he triplicated and began fighting off the blocks and crabs.

Yumi pressed a series of buttons, resulting in Yoshi expertly slicing the squid's tentacles with her beautifully designed fan. Alisha's memory transfer was broken. Alisha smiled and rushed to hide behind Yoshi.

Yumi let out a sigh of relief.

"You fight off X.A.N.A.'s monsters and I'll lead her to the tower. Unless you want me to fight them off."

"Nahh, a MAN should do the fighting." Ulrich smirked.

Yumi groaned. "Not this again."

Yumi controlled Yoshi to kick Rick, though it did no damage. Characters hitting characters didn't do anything.

Ulrich growled.

Jack, the guy who was watching over on a computer, warned them, "You have to get to the tower fast! I'm watching the news, and it ain't good."

Alisha cried out, "What's happening, Jack?"

"The buses are going to hit soon! Hurry up there are two minutes left!"

Yumi hurriedly pressed more buttons. She led Alisha to the tower in record time, and Alisha entered the code just when the buses were going to hit. Thank god. Yumi paused the game, not feeling like going to the next level. It was apparent Ulrich felt the same way.

Ulrich dropped the controller and studied his hands. "They're all cramped!" he complained.

Yumi rolled her eyes. "Put it in water."

Ulrich groaned again.

Yumi sighed, getting up. She held out a hand for Ulrich to grasp. He put his hand into hers, but didn't budge.

Yumi rolled her eyes again as she struggled to pull Ulrich up. With one final pull, he sprang up, eyes wide. He knocked into her, toppling both of them onto the floor in surprise, less than an inch away from each other's face. If they even reached out a little, they would be able to touch each other.

Just then, the door opened.

"I'M BAAACKKK!" Odd sang. "Y'know Ulrich, I think Sam is warming up to me, she-"

He stopped in his tracks and stared. The two gasped and bolted up, red and embarrassed.

Odd burst into wild hysterics. "Welll, what do we have here!" he said in between bursts of laughter.

"It isn't- it wasn't! I mean-" they both stuttered, their faces flushed.

Odd held up his hand to signal silence, still chuckling. "No need to explain anything, lovebirds," his eyes twinkled, "I get it."

"No! You see-" Yumi began.

Odd laughed and walked out the door. "Don't worry, I'm going out so you can finish…" he paused. "Whatever you're doing… I'll lock the door too just in case so Jim won't blow up." He winked. As he closed the door, he burst out into another laughing fit.

"NOOO!" Yumi and Ulrich screamed.

But it was too late. The door clicked and Odd had already rushed off. Probably to flirt more with Sam..

Yumi's black hair swished back and forth as she sat down, her head in her hands. She raised her head and found Ulrich, lying on his bed, burying his face into his pillow. He looked pretty cute like that, all hopeless.

Yumi smacked her head. Ulrich groaned and looked at her. "What's up?"

"Nothing…" she sighed and glared at him. "For the record, I blame this on you. If we get locked in here, I'm going to get into soo much trouble…"

She paused, her face filling with horror. "OH MY GOSH! My mom! If I don't get out of here soon enough, mom's going to-"

She moaned, did a little twirl thing, and fell over backwards onto the bed, and unknowingly into Ulrich's lap. He blushed, but said nothing, relishing the feeling.

"How is this MY fault?" he questioned.

"You were all freakingly stubborn!"

Ulrich raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. He hesitatingly ran his fingers through her silky, soft jet-black hair. It was so soft and amazing. He continued to run his hand through her hair.

Either she didn't know, or didn't care, because she said nothing, only sighed deeply.

"Odd is a retard."

Yumi sprang up from his lap, brought back to reality by his sudden statement. Her face flushed insanely. She jumped off the bed, and dusted herself off and announced, "I'm going to bang ourselves out of here!"

"… WHATTTT!" Ulrich looked shocked. Another way you could tell was how he rolled off his bed in astonishment and practically cracked his head, his jaw dropping to the floor. "Hubba hubba hubba hu-" his mouth opened up and closed up repeatedly, looking like a demented, drowning fish.

"Oh gosh, I didn't mean it like that, you perv!" Yumi shrieked, grabbing a pillow from his bed and screaming into it, then using it as a weapon to hit him constantly. "I meant to bust ourselves out of here!" she jerked her head towards the door.

"Ohowww!" Ulrich cried, a combination between understanding and pain.

"God, you boys always think of things in the most graphical context possible!" Yumi accused. "Perverts! Absolute lecherous perverts! I want nothing to do with you!"

She sat down, dropped her head into the pillow and screamed.

Ulrich stared. "You're overreacting, Yumi…"

"I know, but don't you dare try and stop me." Yumi answered. "And what about you? Hmmm, hubba hubba hubba? What kind of answer is that!"

Ulrich groaned again and fell back onto the bed. "What else could I say! I was shocked! I mean... you- you... ugh!"

Yumi glared at him, her heart pounding like mad. "You know, I meant NOTHING of the sort."

"... Right." Ulrich calmed himself down, trying to control his racing hormones as he stared at her.

Yumi nervously looked at him and looked down at the floor, her entire body beginning to feel warm.

Ulrich snapped out of his trance and looked to the right of him and decided to turn on the radio to cover the awkward silence.

'Right Where You Want Me' by Jesse McCartney came on.

"You've got to be kidding me." Yumi hugged her knees to her chest, staring at the radio.

_"Girl, There's something bout me that you outta know. I never felt the need to lose control." _blasted from the radio.

Ulrich stayed silent, and listened to the lyrics, sweatdropping. He hastily turned off the radio, beads of sweat rolling down his face.

"Now my hands are even MORE cramped up..." he sighed.

"C'mon, I'll soak them in warm water for you, okay?" Yumi smiled gently at him, though she had a little rough edge in her smile. She took his hand and he led her to the bathroom in his room. Yumi prepared the warm water, and brought his hands into the water as she massaged them.

"You've had experience with this before, don't you?" Ulrich grinned easily. This was relaxing.

"I'm a big sister. That's what big sisters do," Yumi answered, and her smile dropped. "I don't know how long I'll still be a big sister though."

"What do you-" Ulrich stopped himself and remained silent, understanding. "I'm sorry, Yumi. He'll be fine. I'm sure of it."

His hands still wet and warm, he pulled them out of the water and grasped her long, graceful hands.

"Thanks Ulrich." she curved her pink lips to a smile, her eyes shining.

Their faces only centimeters apart, they leaned in, their eyes lost in the others, but both failed to hear the little click of the door...

-

**A/N: Like I said, I gave you a longer chapter. Now that I'm looking at it, it seems so short.. but when I was writing it it seemed like it lasted forever... funny how that works..  
**

**Had no idea how to end it so I stopped it randomly. But I have to admit, its the best random place to end a chapter for me yet. haha.  
**

**Review! (: Reviews means I am happy. Happiness means more chapters. See? What a lovely cycle.  
**

**--jENN**


	7. Chapter 7: Dreaded Drama

**Cyber Love;; Chapter 7**

**By azn DREAMER xD**

**A/N: Yes. Inspiration. I thrive on it (: So dedicated to JadeKatana3 who inspired me with her review. Reading it sent a jolt of inspiration down my spine. Maybe it has to do with Six Flags WHICH FREAKINGLY ROCKED ! YEAHHH! but maybe not haha.**

**Um. This chapter seems more rated T. ish. Yeah. So, uhh, "warning"? I was going to make the... "passionate" scene a bit more.. iunno. DETAILED. But I feel so uncomfortable writing it. I mean, I can do it, but I feel so… eehhh writing it. …Sorry!**

**And this chapter makes me indescribably, incredibly IFFY. Like reading it makes me go arghhhhh what the HECK! But it's the best I could come up with.. yes, spur-of-the-moment sort of thing..**

**-**

They leaned in, their lips brushing against the other's, not noticing the sound of the door open.

Yumi pressed herself against Ulrich, her lips yearning for more than just a small kiss. And he was more than happy to provide her with that.

Their eyes closed, and they even failed to notice the huge man standing at the bathroom doorway, watching angrily as the passionate scene unfolded.

Their hands wrapped around each other wantingly as Ulrich happily deepened the make-out session. The huge man cringed. He took out a pad and wrote down everything. He had to report back to the principal. These youngsters found someone, and yet, he, an almost 40-year old had still not?

He looked to the ceiling and glared. Life was _so_ unfair.

They lived in a carefree life while he was the-the school chaperone, the students' babysitter! Always checking on them, finding them all over the other, doing… who-knew-what.

Lucky someone had warned him of this little affectionate scene. He would have to keep an eye on these two… that black-haired kid had seemed quite angry when he had told Jim…

Then Jim finally broke.

"**RAWRRRRRRRR!"** he boomed with fury. A/N: haha yes, bolded

Yumi and Ulrich flew out of each other's arms, landing on the ground, glancing at each other in absolute horror.

"What did you just do to me!" Yumi gasped at Ulrich. "Why'd you even touch me!" she stood up hastily and glared at him. "I knew it! You ARE a lecherous pervert!"

She didn't even notice Jim as she stormed out the door.

"NO! Yumi! Wait!" Ulrich cried out, his bum still on the floor of the bathroom.

The man smirked. "'Ello Ulrich."

"Jim! No!" Ulrich shrieked. "No! Its not what you thought it was, seriously, I-"

"No need, Ulrich." Jim smiled sinisterly. "I won't tell the principal about these… doings. Seeing this little scene is good enough." He took out his pad and shredded the paper. He smirked and left.

Ulrich gaped. "I hate myself…"

He jumped onto his bed and sighed, feeling like he was going to cry or something. What had he done wrong? Why had she gotten so mad all of a sudden?

Odd jumped in through the door, twirling around. "Hehee! Sammm!"

Ulrich sighed dejectedly. "Did she kiss you?"

Odd frowned. "No. But she soooo digs me!" he grinned.

Ulrich rolled his eyes.

Odd smirked. "So. Do anything NIIIIICE with Yumi? Hm? HMMM?"

"I guess…"

"I already told the whole school that you were together so you better thank me and tell me what you did."

"… WHAT!"

"Teehee."

Ulrich pounded the wall behind his bed. Odd gaped at the huge mark in the wall. Ulrich looked at his bruised knuckles and shrugged, hugging his pillow and his plushie elephant, Mr. Fuzzywuzzle. YAY!

"Yumi's going to get so mad! Even madder than before! Odd, how could you! Why did Jim come in, do you know? Who'd you tell!"

"… Um. I told the whole school."

"Specifically?"

"Um. Sissy. She blew up and punched me in the gut. Ow. Hm. Naomi. She giggled. Tamiya. She gasped and got her videocamera. Milly. She got out her microphone and her pad. Uhh, William too. He looked sort of upset. He's cool." Odd grinned.

"Who's… William?"

"New kid. Came here a few days ago. In one of my other classes. He's sort of a tough kid. But he's nice. The girls been fawning over him for awhile."

Ulrich's face gave it all away. "But I don't think Yumi likes him at all," Odd added.

"Oh."

"Yup! Now tell me what you did!"

"Uhh. We kissed."

"French?"

"Yeah."

"Woahhh. Nice."

Ulrich rolled his eyes and faced the wall, staring at the dent and clutching Mr. Fuzzywuzzle, who he also called Mr. FW to ignore unneeded comments, even though he got them anyway. He made a little "mm." sound.

"And what else?"

"We held onto each other." Ulrich hid his face in his pillow as a small smile began to creep onto his face. He raised his head out of the pillow long enough to say, "It was amazing."

"… You touched her, huh?"

"What do you mean, 'TOUCHED'? I did not 'TOUCH' her." Ulrich turned around to glare at Odd. "We held onto each other. That's IT."

"Did she get mad later?"

"Well… yeah, why?"

"In Health, when Mrs. Livingstein was talking about…" Odd coughed. "... stuff, we had to do a report on…" COUGH. "Stuff and what we felt about it. Yumi feels strongly about y'know… being," COUGHCOUGH. "'TOUCHED'."

Ulrich groaned. "You can stop coughing now." He buried his face into his pillow. "I DID NOT TOUCH HER!" came his muffled voice. "ALL I DID WAS HOLD ONTO HER!"

"Um, suuure, man."

"It's true!"

"You should go and talk to her, Ulrich."

Ulrich shook his head dejectedly. "I can't now. I'm not in the shape to go and explain myself… I'll go tomorrow."

But he didn't know tomorrow would be too late…

-

Yumi sat down on Aelita's bed, sinking everything in. She had no room yet, but she would soon. She had pounded on Aelita's door, screaming, so Aelita finally let Yumi in. She had asked Yumi if she wanted her to stay, but she had said no. Thus, Aelita and Jeremie skipped off, jabbering on about their secretive little plan. Barf.

Now onto thinking.

He touched her. She knew it.

No. She was overreacting. He was just holding onto her.

She stood up, nodding, smiling. It was nothing.

But then she dropped back down. Sissy was right.

He was an absolute pervert.

She was completely mixed up. He had done nothing to her.

What was her freaking problem? Why had she stormed out like that?

She thought long and hard about it. She was uncomfortable about being touched affectionately by the opposite sex except hugs. But it was only a hug sort of thing. A more wanting hug. But still! No way to get all messed up.. She had kissed Theo before, hadn't she? Barely, but it was still a somewhat kiss. She hadn't gotten all messed up THAT time.

She felt strongly about being touched. She had written a huge speech/report about it in Health. After the "Theo Incident" she had gotten very pissed off about being touched. Theo had been an absolute pervert to her and had been all over her, slobbering. Ew.

Sissy had told her Ulrich was an absolute pervert and touched her in a billion different places today after she had gotten Milly into the infirmary. But then again, Sissy was an absolute slut.. and.. just..

Maybe Sissy WAS right. Maybe she shouldn't get too close to Ulrich. Just in case.

Yumi moaned and dropped down to her friend's pink pillow. She was too confused to get sick over the pink.

It was probably just her feelings going into emotional overdrive. She had to stay away from him for awhile.

Maybe they should see other people. So she could calm down. But she should still stay away. If Sissy's statement was true… Yumi felt her heart sinking. Sissy and her weren't exactly friends, but they did occasionally speak, so maybe Sissy's statement was only a lie.

But just in case. She would steer clear, and try seeing other people.

She picked up her black cell phone and dialed Ulrich's number. She waited. One ring… two rings… three rings… four-

"Odd here!"

"Oh hey Odd."

"Hey Yumi, what's up?"

"Can I talk to Ulrich please?"

"You really depressed him Yumi. I mean, he doesn't bring out Mr. Fuzzywuzzle unless he's really upset."

"But… Odd, just let me talk to him."

"He's uhh... uhh..." a pause. "IN THE BATHROOM! Yeah!"

Yumi sighed."… Just… tell him to call me back okay?"

"Sure."

"Okay, thanks Odd."

"No problem, Yumi."

They hung up just as someone knocked on the door.

Yumi rushed to the door and peeked outside.

It was William. Ugh.

"How do you know I was here?" she asked.

"I saw Aelita and asked her." He responded.

"Oh… I see…"

Yumi opened the door wider, a bit reluctantly, though she didn't show it, letting him come in.

"Hey Yumi." He smiled at her.

"Hi William." She forced a smile as she sat on her bed. "Why are you here…?"

"Is it true that you and Ulrich got together?" he asked a bit bashfully.

Yumi felt her mouth drop. "WHAT THE FREAK? No, who told you that?"

"Odd."

Yumi sighed as she grabbed her pillow and sank into it. "I would think so.."

William laughed. "So um, if you're not together with Ulrich…"

Yumi looked questioningly at him, feeling everything shut down. _Oh no, oh hell no, oh my g-_

"Then will you go out with me?"

She had it coming, but yet, she still felt like fainting.

The question hit Yumi with huge force. She hadn't expected to start dating right after her intense make out session with Ulrich. She fell onto her bed in surprise, her face painted with shock.

William blushed, his face red with embarrassment. "I'm sorry, its just…" he looked over at her, then glanced to the floor. "I'll go now then…"

"No, wait, William!" Yumi's mouth opened, and the words flew out of her mouth like it was being controlled, "I'll go out with you!"

William's mouth curved up to a huge smile. Yumi smiled a bit sheepishly back. Outside, her face was happy, inside, she was on a roller coaster. She was going up, way up, and all of a sudden, it had stopped. And she was screaming like there was no tomorrow.

Why had she done that? Why? She didn't like him that way! She didn't like him at all! But she should give him a try… especially since she said yes. Ughhh. She hated her mouth. Her mouth and her brain which she was now convinced that some evil maniac was controlling.

William was cute and handsome; yes. He wasn't dumb. He wasn't smart either, though. He was taller than her by only a little more than a centimeter, unlike Ulrich, who was taller than her by about two or three inches. He was indeed "cool" and somewhat popular, since the girls couldn't stop swooning over him. So he wasn't a nerd or a geek or a freak, like Herve. Ew. He actually looked pretty cute standing there with a blush on his face.

She sighed inwardly. A try. Nothing more.

She smiled weakly as she opened the door for him. He turned back and flashed another smile at her, saying, "So, how about tonight, at seven?"

Yumi frowned and shook her head, happy she wasn't lying. "No, I have to go home today. Tomorrow I'm here for good. How about tomorrow at around 7ish?

He flashed an even bigger smile, so big it spread across his entire face. "I'll be there!"

"Okay great see you then bye." She said quickly, shutting the door and locking it. Phew.

She jumped onto Aelita's bed, feeling tears coming up. She hoped Aelita wouldn't mind her pillow soggy.

Just then, her cell phone rang. Oh shoot.

Yumi got it out of her pocket and said, "Hello?" She tried to hide the tears from her voice. Silent streaks of crystal clear liquid ran down her face.

"Oh Yumi, where are you!"

Her mother.

"Still at Kadic." she answered, a bit embarassed.

"Okay, Papa and I are still at the hospital."

"Anything come up?"

"No. Nothing."

"… Oh."

"Just come home soon, all right dear? I'm coming home soon."

"Yes Mama, I'll be there in five minutes. Maybe ten."

"Okay, bye!"

"Byee."

Yumi felt another spurge of tears coming on. She clutched Aelita's pillow and wept until she was dry. She wiped her eyes, not caring her face was red, and went out of the room, limping.

She needed Ulrich. He was the only one she could turn to now. He comforted her.

She knocked, tears wetting her shirt.

"I'm not here!"

Ulrich's hoarse voice.

"Ulrich, its Yumi! Open up, please! I need you!"

A pause. "Why don't you just get your _beloved William_, huh?" came his heartbroken voice.

Yumi gaped, her eyes filled with sorrow. She felt her stomach drop. She was supposed to avoid Ulrich... romantically anyway, right? But…

She was so messed up. "WHAT? ULRICH, OPEN UP!"

Footsteps. Ulrich opened the door, his face looking very tired and confused. It had only been 30 minutes.

"How do you know about that?"

"Odd."

"… I'm going to KILL that boy. How does HE know?"

"William was running through the halls screaming, 'I GOT A DATE WITH YUMI ISHIYAMA AND SHE AINT GOING OUT WITH ULRICH ANYMORE HAHAHA HEHEHE!'" Ulrich stopped his girlish impersonation of William and went to his bed, and dropped down.

"Ulrich!" Yumi cried, sinking onto her bed. She bent down, and gave him a ferocious kiss, which only lasted a few lingering seconds.

She gently took her mouth off of his, tears streaming down her cheeks. So much for avoiding him.

He immediately pulled her back down for another intense snog session. She didn't object. They seemed to be in that position forever, both of them on the bed, facing each other, their lips meeting.

Ulrich pulled apart, his face full of shock at what they both did. "I thought you liked William." 

"I don't… its just a pity date…" Yumi looked out the window. "I… I- Ulrich, I don't know what to think.."

"Why did you run, Yumi?"

"Its… just…" she avoided his gaze.

"Yumi…" he looked at her, worry in his eyes. "What are you trying to say…?" he choked, looking away, his voice hoarse, broken, raspy. Dead. He was so confused. She was going out with William. But at the same time, she was kissing him. He would never understand women.

"M-maybe we should see other people. I need some time to think…" Yumi whispered. "I like you Ulrich- I really like you- but… I just have to think."

She got up from his bed, and ran for the door. Ulrich grabbed her arm, pulled her close to him, and gave her a gentle kiss that ended too fast, their lips lingering.

Yumi closed her eyes, and reopened them as the kiss ended. Her eyes filled with tears as she turned and fled, leaving a very confused and heartbroken boy standing there, drowning in the sea with nowhere to turn.

He flopped onto his bed, Mr. Fuzzywuzzle comforting him like the elephant had for so many years.

But this time, not even Mr. Fuzzlewuzzle's purple soft exterior could stop Ulrich's tears, soothe his heart, or make his life smooth and straight again.

-

Yumi ran into Aelita's room, ignoring Aelita's gasps and Jeremie's wide eyes. She grabbed her backpack, her coat, and ran out the door.

"YUMI!"

She heard her best friend scream. She heard the terror pound in her heart. She heard her brain die. She heard Aelita ask Jeremie in devastation, "Why is my pillow all wet?" She felt her parents' worry. She felt her brother slipping away from her fingers. She felt her life falling apart, going down.

She ran.

-

**A/N: WAHH! Hehe. Teen angst. Dramaaa. Ish. Sort of. Okay. Probably my first dramatic chapter I ever did. Hm.**

**I'm so surprised I'm writing angst after all the happy things that happened to me this week. This depression probably comes from the fact that I want to go back to Six Flags really really bad and I probably can't.. stupid rainy days.  
**

**YES! NINE PAGES MANN! Be happy. (:  
REVIEWW!  
**

**--jenn**


	8. Chapter 8: Run Away

**Cyber Love;; Chapter 8  
By IT'S THE JENNSTER.**

**- Sorry for not writing for so long. Iunno, life has been busy. So here it is now. I actually wrote this a long time ago, but I never knew it was here… so enjoy!**

-

Her feet pounded the ground, and the rain splashed all around her, drenching her clothes, her face, her hair, her new shoes.

She didn't care.

Her tears blended with the rain. But the rain brought her ease, and the sky demonstrated her internal fury and confusion.

The lightening seemed to illuminate her broken face, and the thunder represented the knot in her stomach, the pounding of her heart as she seemed to die, her heart running faster, ready to explode. She let out a small, but long, painful scream. Her steps slowed, but she was still faster than a cautious rabbit running from an obsessed child wanting to pet it.

She ran into the forest for some shelter after running about 3 miles straight. She sneezed and shivered, but the tree's leaves seemed to cover her, and only a few drops of water drenched her.

She tilted her head heavenward and whispered, "Thank you."

Her head seemed to turn and her eyes spotted a huge rock next to a tree. Perfect. She jogged to the rock, her vision blurring as she suddenly tripped and fell. She landed onto the muddy ground. She glanced back quickly and found a sharp knife-like branch sticking out from somewhere deep within.

She let out a strangled cry as a vicious pain spread through her body. A pool of red blood formed on the ground as she stared at it in dismay. She gazed at the deep bloody cut on her ankle, her tears doubling as she clutched her ankle, trying not to let out another cry of pain. Her heart exploded with emotion as pain swirled all around her.

She limped to the rock, and used the tree to lean on. Don't lean on friends. Lean on trees. They don't confuse you. To be more specific: don't lean on guys. They make you mentally insane.

She looked at the clouds above her head, and the lightening still flashing. She hoped a tree wouldn't fall on her. Not like how her life did. The pain had died down, but it still pounded faintly, yet loudly in her aching head.

No one would get her here. No one would find her. The birds on top of the tree flew away. She was all alone again.

_"You found me… when no one else was looking… how did you know just where I would be?"_ the words seemed to flow out of her mouth.

She wished that was the case.

Her eyes closed and the steady pounding of rain seeming to soothe her, the heavy pain pounding in her head growing louder and louder, softer and softer…

And everything stopped.

-

"Ohmygod!" Aelita screamed over and over again. She threw herself against Jeremie, sobbing.

About two hours had passed, and Yumi had not come back. She had called her house a few minutes later after Yumi had left, but no one had picked up. Yumi was a fast runner and a good athlete. She would have reached her house in two minutes tops.

But she hadn't. And now Aelita was going insane.

"I'm sure she's fine, Aelita." Jeremie reassured.

Aelita took deep breaths. "It's been two hours, Jeremie!" she was close to tears, and her voice had reached a high-pitched shrieking panicked level. "I'm going to Ulrich's room and telling him. Then I have nothing to do to call the police."

"I'll come with you." Jeremie automatically said.

Aelita nodded gravely. She grabbed the blonde by the hand and both ran to the other side of the school where the boy's dorms were, and knocked frantically at Ulrich's door.

"Hi." Ulrich seemed tired.

"Yumi!" Aelita cried.

"What about her??" Ulrich seemed alarmed. He could tell by Aelita's tone that something was wrong.

Terribly wrong.

"She ran away." Aelita explained. Ulrich blanched and his face turned five shades paler.

"She… there's something wrong. I can sense it." Aelita's eyes teared up. "We have to call the police." She sobbed as Jeremie intertwined his fingers with hers and stroked her hand, as an attempt to soothe her.

"No, we have to call her parents first." Ulrich shook his head. He took out his cell phone and handed it to Aelita. "You do it. I'd probably scare them since they have no idea who I am."

Aelita nodded, and dialed Yumi's home number. Her mother picked up, sounding a bit alarmed. "Aelita! Where is Yumi? I've called her numerous times but she has not picked up."

Her cell phone must have been back in her room. "Mrs. Ishiyama, Yumi has escaped."

"ESCAPED??" her mother shrieked. She issued a number of Japanese words in fury. "Where has she gone!"

"I don't know, ma'am." Aelita said somberly. "I don't know."

"We must call the police at once!"

"Yes, I'll do it." Aelita nodded, even though Yumi's mother wouldn't be able to see it anyway. "We know more information."

"Please call me as soon as possible."

"I will."

They hung up. Aelita looked at the two boys in despair.

She gulped as she dialed 911, a number she hoped never to need to dial.

She told the officer the information, and the officer said they would look for her.

"That's not enough." Ulrich said sternly. Hah, he fit his name. "We have to look for it yourself."

"What?" Jeremie asked, a bit nervously. "Shouldn't we leave this to the officers? It's pouring rain out there."

"It's only a slight drizzle, Belpois." Ulrich answered, getting his coat.

"But Ulrich-" Aelita began as well.

Ulrich gave them a tight, somewhat forced smile.

"If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself."

-

They piled into Ulrich's sleek car, all worried sick. Ulrich swallowed down the lump in his throat. He failed.

He turned on the radio, trying to soothe himself.

"You Found Me" by Kelly Clarkson.

_"Is this a dream? If it is, please don't wake me up from this high…"_

Ulrich listened to the lyrics, his heart sinking.

"Ulrich?" Aelita asked, a bit concerned. "Are you okay? You look like you're on the verge of headbanging and crying…" She added, "And it's sort of scaring me."

"Oh. Sorry." Ulrich turned the key in the ignition again, and the car purred to life.

They drove out of the parking lot, and roared away.

Ulrich opened all of the windows, even in pouring rain.

"I hope you don't mind your car soaking wet." Jeremie said, as Aelita called out into the evening.

"I can always clean it," Ulrich answered absentmindedly.

Jeremie sighed, took a deep breath, and plunged his head through the window, joining his girlfriend in the yelling, soaking his head with the pouring water.Ulrich opened his window, the wind blowing his hair messy, but he didn't seem to care. His voice wasn't as loud as Aelita's panicked shrieking, but it was the one filled with the most heartbreak and remorse.

-

**A/N: I know, it's not that great. But I really don't feel like making it better. Looking back at my old writing, it sucked. I'm going to try more and make myself better. I wrote a lot more for CL already but I'm not bothering to fix it. What I wrote is what I wrote. I can only improve now.  
**

**So, please read and review!  
**

**-IT'S THE JENNSTER.**


	9. Chapter 9: You Found Me

**Cyber Love  
By Jenn :)**

**A/N: I'm sorry. What else is there to say? I'm sorry for tending to my life more than to this story. :) There, better apology!  
But I suppose I need to give another apology. This might suck... because uh, I wrote this in December, and well, my writing skills are sucky.**

**They still are. I need to polish them. They're rusting. Arghhh.**

**Please read and review anyway!  
**

**-  
**

Yumi woke up the next morning, the Sun shining through the trees. She squinted her eyes and smiled. She loved sunlight. It gave her energy; it made her happy.

She sprang up, with renewed hope.

She let out a cry and sunk back to the ground. She felt the Sun dim, as if the Sun were looking down at her and feeling sorry. She looked at the dried blood on the grass, and felt sick.

It was her blood. She instantly remembered yesterday's memories, and winced. She glanced at the deep cut in her ankle, a faint throbbing in her head as she touched it.

She pressed it a bit harder, and instantly reeled back her hand in utter pain. The sound that came out of her mouth sounded like a snake hissing in absolute pain. She felt the tears come up as she looked at the deep, red, bloody cut.

It hurt so badly. She wanted to go home where her mother would be waiting for her, with the fresh smell of soup wafting around her, where a hug would be waiting for her if she ever needed one.

Then she stopped herself.

Were they even looking for her?

She shrank in despair. Did they even notice they were gone? Did they? Her cut would definitely get infected soon. It was hurting. Badly, and more badly. Her stomach hurt from hunger.

The hunger and pain created almost a stupor on her, and she fell asleep, a single tear traveling down her pale cheek.

-

The next day, Ulrich told Odd to tell his teachers that he was going out to look for Yumi today.

"You got it so bad, man." Odd shook his head. "You should have told me you were looking for her yesterday, I would have helped."

"Naw, you were busy flirting with Sam anyway.." Ulrich looked out the window.

Odd blushed. "She's cute."

"Mm."

"I'll tell the teachers. You go get her, tiger." Odd grinned toothily and left.

Ulrich rolled his eyes and dropped onto his pillow. His mind wandered off.

And in some time, he slept, tired and feeling sicker by the minute.

-

His body shook.

He mumbled, digging his head into his pillow. He received a panicked whack to the head.

"Argh."

"ULRICH! You're alive!" Odd sighed with relief. "Did you sleep the entire time?"

"… I only slept for five minu-" Ulrich glanced at the clock, his mouth agape. "The clock's broken!"

"Uh. No. It's 3 PM."

"But- that means… I was. Yumi!" He gacked.

Odd listened.

Silence.

"RRGHHHH!!!" Ulrich thrust his head into the pillow. "SHE MIGHT BE DEAD BY NOW WITH NO FOOD OR WATER!"

"Way to be positive, old buddy." Odd patted Ulrich on the shoulder.

"RGHH!!" he groaned again.

"Um. Man. You can just go now." Odd feebly suggested.

Ulrich sprang up, took his car keys and abruptly left.

"Wow, that was awkward."

-

Yumi's salty tears dissolved into her mouth. She licked them hungrily. She hadn't eaten for a day, perhaps more.

Yumi could only depend on the Sun and the stars. She frowned, staring at a few ants scurrying across the ground. Trying to stand up, her ankle gave out, and she collapsed back onto the rock she sat on, exhausted already. Then her eyes settled back onto the ants, her stomach anxiously stirring up the desire for food.

"Mm… tasty..." she murmured anxiously, reaching for the ants. Her hunger seemed to be overtaking her body. She'd read a lot of books where people could survive for more than 5 days. She'd heard from her science teacher you could usually survive for about a week or so without food.

She frowned again. She was not one of those people.

The ants bumped into each other frantically, trying to escape her hands.

She suddenly stopped her hands, staring. _What in the hell was she doing?_

Yumi stopped, and sat back onto her rock, sighing. Was anyone even looking for her? She doubted it.

She would stay here forever, and someday, some lone traveler will spot her dead, and by then, everyone would have forgotten her. Yes, she hated being a pessimistic drama queen.

She cried.

-

"YUMI! YUMI! WHERE ARE YOU?" Ulrich shouted at the top of his lungs.

"If I find her, I'm going to give her a huge piece of my mind," he muttered. "Running off like that."

"YUMI!!" he tried again, making his voice hoarse. He heard a bit of rustling deep inside the woods as he drove. He opened all of the windows and the roof of his convertible and listened as he again screamed out her name.

He heard footsteps. He quickly parked his car, and stuck his head out of the window. Then he opened the car door, and stepped towards the woods.

The footsteps became louder. As he blinked, he was held tightly by a pair of strong arms. Instinctively, he shrugged and shoved that person off as he opened his eyes.

"AAHH!" 

-

**A/N: Okay, I really, really will try to update more. Really.  
And um, I still know this sucks, so I really will try!! Seriously.**

So please review! If you do, it'll give me motivation! haha :)

--Jenn  



	10. Chapter 10: Don't Let Me Go

**Cyber Love  
Chapter Ten**

**By Jenn**

**A/N: Throw rocks at me; I know I'm horrible. **

**-**

"Mrs. Ishiyama…?" Ulrich widened his dark chocolate eyes, the rain flattening his ruffled hair.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" A middle-aged Asian woman profusely apologized. "I thought you were someone dangerous, lurking around in the woods like that!"

Ulrich smiled. "That's okay."

"… What are you doing here?" The Japanese woman held out her large, onigiri-patterned umbrella out to cover the tall boy, and realization struck her face. "Oh! Are you.. Ol..rick? You brought Yumi to the hospital! Arigato daimas!"

"Ulrich, ma'am. And it was no problem, really." He fixed his hair, brushing away the strands of chestnut hair in front of his eyes. "You must be.. Mrs. Ishiyama, right?" The woman nodded, her expression neutral.

"What are you doing here in the cold, Mrs. Ishiyama?" Ulrich questioned, puzzled.

She smiled sadly. "Taking a walk to clear my mind, but silently praying my daughter will show up. She's always been one to make a statement, no matter what the cost. She's a silly girl. When she was around 9 or 10, she accused my husband and me for spending more time with Hiroki, and ran away into our backyard and didn't come out." She shook her head at the memory, a chuckle escaping.

Ulrich grinned. "She was always the rebellious type.."

Mrs. Ishiyama cocked her head at him, smiled softly, then asked, "What are you doing out in the rain, dear? You're not wearing a proper raincoat or carrying an umbrella! You'll catch cold!"

Ulrich blushed, "I'm looking for Yumi…" He straightened himself, and then promptly changed the subject. "You seemed rather upset on the phone before, Mrs. Ishiyama. Are you feeling better now?"

The older woman heaved a sigh. "I suppose so. I decided that feeling anxious wouldn't help. Hiroki is still in the hospital in a coma, and my daughter is in hiding, or even worse, dead." Her eyes welled up, her tears blending in with the pelting rain, "There's nothing I can do. My two children; my only children—gone."

Ulrich remained silent for a few more minutes, then spoke up, "It's okay," he whispered, his voice swirling and evaporating into the loudness of the rain pounding upon them. "Yumi knows you're worried. She knows we'll find her."

Mrs. Ishiyama took a deep breath, then exhaled, a tiny smile on her lips. "Thank you, Ulrich. But I'm sure Yumi wouldn't want us to get hurt. The police will find her. Go home before you get sick, dear."

"Would you like a ride home?" Ulrich offered.

"It's quite all right," Mrs. Ishiyama smiled, before walking away with her large umbrella shielding herself from the rain. Ulrich opened the door to his car, and stepped inside. Watching her from the window, he silently waited until she had walked around the corner. He sprang out of the car, his eyes full of fire.

"Yumi… I'm going to find you.."

-

Mrs. Ishiyama peered behind her shoulder wordlessly, in time to see the chocolate-haired boy jump out of his car, and run towards the woods, peering into the branches, hoping to catch sight of a certain Japanese girl.

She smiled softly.

Young love, ne?

-

Yumi lolled her head to the side, trying to ignore the gnawing hunger in her stomach. It's only been… oh, one day? Maybe one and a half day?

She tried to console herself. "I still have about 6 days left until I completely die off."

She laughed cynically to herself, before pushing herself up to stand. Her long legs wobbled, but she stood, nonetheless.

Through the forest she walked, leaving a puddle of blood with each step she took. Light footsteps swiftly changed to pounding feet that raced through the forest. Branch by branch flew past her head, cut her face. Limb by limb, she whimpered to herself as a twig cut even deeper into her wound, but she kept on running, the wind whispering that she was almost at the end.

She listened to the wind, and continued trekking through the woods at breakneck pace. Yumi tripped on a root on the ground, and stumbled out of the dead forest, her throat scratchy and thirsty as she cried out.

Her red eyes bore many wild tears, and she didn't even remember what she was doing in this forest in the first place. Why did she run away?

Oh dear Lord in Heaven..

She just wanted to come home.

-

Ulrich scanned the road and breathed out a cloud of cold air, and he watched the little cloud evaporate into the bleak sky.

He stared ahead, into a big patch of woods, and yelled hoarsely, "YUMI!!!"

"MmmPHHhh!!"

Ulrich cocked his head, and followed the sounds cautiously. "Yumi?"

"U-Ulrich…"

He snapped his head to the right to find a tall, willowy girl, bruised, scratched, and red with tears. But he had never seen anything more beautiful. This was what she really was beneath everything. Underneath her headstrong cover, was a frail girl that just wanted her voice heard.

He gazed at her passionately, as she stared back at him with wary, hurt eyes.

Her knees buckled together, and she attempted to keep on standing. "I'm so weak. I'm so weak." She whispered, her words traveling to his ears softly. "I don't… I'm so stupid, I..."

"Yumi, stop. Don't speak. Please. I'm here." Ulrich delicately held her in his arms, his eyes closing, and his words breaking.

"Please…" her soft melodic flow of words dispersed into the wind,

"Don't let me go."

-

**A/N: Sorry, I rushed the last part. But hey, it can't go on forever. Well it can, but that's depressing.  
Thank you for reading faithfully! And happy holidays!**

-jenn 


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